Vending machine



P. M. COOK VENDING MAGHINE Jan. 26 1926.

Filed Opt. 31. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gunmen PEHFPL 0 Patented Jan. 26, 1926.

UNITE!) STATES; FATENT Q-FFECE.

PEARL M. COOK, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AS SIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GUSS E. RASMUSSEN, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

VENDING MACHINE.

Application filed October 31, 1921. Serial No. 511,752.

To all whom it may macern:

Be it known that I, PEARL M. Coon, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Seattle, county of King, State of lVashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in coin controlled vending machines, and more particularly to a machine for vending packages of cake, loaves of bread, or the like, and has for its principal object to provide a machine that is simple and efficient in its character and which is locked against operation except upon the insertion of a coin of suitable denomination.

Another object of the invention resides in the construction and combination of the parts associated with the coin actuated release latch which prevents operation of the machine except when the predetermined coin is inserted.

Other objects of the invention reside in the details of construction of the vending drum, the advancing lever and the means for returning the parts to normal position after an operation.

In accomplishing these and other objects ofthe invention, I have provided the improved details of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine embodied by the present invention. V

Figure 2 is a side view of the machine with a part of thehousing broken away to better illustrate the coin actuated drum retaining latch and the actuating lever.

Figure 3 is a vertical section, taken substantially on'the line in Figure 2.

Figure at is a vertical section through the housing and vending drum.

Figure 5 is a detail view of the coin controlled mechanism showing the manner in which the locking latch is released by a coin, and how the coin is sustained.

Figure 6 is a similar View, showing the actuating lever moved forwardly and the coin discharged Referring more in detail to the several views of the drawlngs, wherein like reference numerals deslgnate the same or like parts with a cover 6 at its upper end that may be removed when the machine is to be filled. The lower end of the supply chamber 5 opens directly into a base housing 7 wherein a vending drum 8, which controls the delivery of the articles, is fixed upon a hori- Zontal shaft 9 rotatably supported in the opposite side walls of the casing. The drum has its opposite side portions cut away, thus forming pockets 1O whereinto articles from the chamber 5 will move as the drum is rotated, and from which they will be singly discharged into the base of the housing which is provided at the front with an opening 11 through which they may be removed.

articles within the chamber.

Secured to one side of the casing is a housing 15 wherein the coin controlled release mechanism and the mechanism associated with the advancing or actuating lever is contained and, at the front of this housing, and near its upper end, is a coin re ceiving slot 16 which communicates with a coin feed chute 17through which Coins will be delivered by. gravity,

The drum rotating and supporting shaft 9 extends into the housing and has cams l8 and 19 fixed thereon in spaced relation, and pivotally mounted on the shaft between the cams is the inner end of an actuating lever 20 which extends from the housing through a slot 21 wherein it is adapted to be moved formirdly and rearwardly by means of a laterally extending handle 22 at its outer end.

Pivotally mounted on the outside of the lever 20 is a latch 23 having a hook 21 at its end that is held against the periphery of the cam 19 by means of a spring 25 fixed to the lever, and formed in the cam at diametrically opposite sides are ratchet notcnes 26 within which the hook 2-1 will seat so that, by swinging the lever forwardly from the position in which it is shown in Figure 5 to that in which it is shown in Figure 6, thedrum will be rotated through 180 degrecs. The movement of the lever is limited by the extent 0:1 the slot 21 in the housing 15 so that the drum can not be advanced too far.

To prevent actuation of the drum without the insertion of a coin of required denomination, I have provided a retaining latch 30 that is pivotally supported between its ends by means of a pin 31 extendedinto the wall 4 and, at one end, has a hook 32 that normally engages against the end of one of two slots 33 that are formed at diametrically opposite points in the periphery of the cam 19, and in this manner prevents forward turning of the shaft 9.

At the opposite end of the latch is a downwardly curved and then upwardly extended portion 3st provided at the outer end with a shallow cup 35 that normally is disposed directly beneath the discharge end of the coin chute 17 to receive the coins as they are delivered from the chute; and because of the weight of the coin caught within the cup, the latch will be causedto move pivotally and its hooked end released from the cam 19 so that the drum may then be rotated.

In order that the latch will be retained disengaged from the cam 19 until after the actuation of the drum by the lever, I provide for retaining the coin within the cup until this operation has taken place. This is accomplished by terminating the end of the chute 17 at a certain measured distance from the cam and by placing the latch at such position that as it is moved downwardly by the weight of the coin, it will engage the cam before it has moved sufliciently to allow the coin to pass from the chute. The coin is thus held until actuation of the lever revolves the cam sufiiciently that a slot 33 therein will receive the portion of the latch that, at that time, engages the cam so that a farther downward tilting movement of v31 would need to be varied the latch is permitted and the coin will be dropped from the cup. It will be noted by reference to Figure 6, however, that this is not accomplished until the lever has been moved nearly to its forward position.

Coins delivered from the lever cup are caught in a chute 1O which leads into a catch cup 41 that is secured, or locked, within the housing 15.

To restore the parts to normal position, after a forward actuation of the lever 20, I have attached a cable 36 to the lever and have secured a weight 37 thereto. The cable slides over a pin 33 in the wall 4- and due to the pull thereon by the weight, it moves the s lever rearwardly after each operation.

Assuming that the machine is so constructed, the operation of the same would be as follows:

The supply chamber 5 is filled by removing the cover at the upper end of the casing; the articles for vending being disposed, one upon the other, within the chamber with the lower one disposed within a pocket of the drum. A. person wishing to purchase one of the articles, inserts a coin of the proper denomination within the slot 16 and the coin moves down the chute 17 and is caught within the cup 35 at the end of the latch 30, causing the latch to move pivotally upon its support and to raise the hooked end thereof from engagement with the cam 19; the operator then grasps the handle of the lever and draws it forwardly so that, by the connection between the lever and shaft 9 provided through the latch 24: and cam 18, the drum will be rotated through approximately 180 degrees and the article contained within the drum is delivered into the base of the housing wherefrom it may be removed. W'hen the lever is released, it is returned to normal position by means of the weight 37. Should the operator hesitate, after inserting the coin, before actuating the lever, the drum will remain released since the coin will not be discharged from the cup 35 until the cam has been rotated sufi ciently to bring a slot 33 into position to receive the engaging part 3 1 of the latch. This detail prevents the loss oi a coin without a vending operation:

As the coin drops from the cup 35, the latch hook 32 again engages the cam 19 and, as the latter is advanced, it drops into a slot 33 to prevent any further vending with out the insertion of another coin.

When the lever 20 is returned, the latch 24: rides back along the cam 18 and drops back of the rearward notch 26 so that it is connected for the next operation.

It is apparent that to operate the mechanism with coins of different denominations, the weight of the hooked end of the latch .ccordin to the weight of the (5011],it11tl the .distzmce between the end of the chute 17 and cup 35 would also need to be varied. However, this would be a matter of detail in construction and not in the principle of operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

In a vending machine of the class described, the combination with a supply containing housing and a vending drum therefor, of an actuating shaft for rotating the drum an advancing cam and a locking cam fixed to the shaft and provided respectively with peripheral notches and circumferentially directed slots, an actuating lever pivotally mounted on the shaft, a spring pressed latch on the lever having a hook engageable with the notches of the advancing cam whereby the drum may be rotated forwardly, a coin chute, a pivotally supported latch lever having a hook at one end normally engageable within a slot of the locking cam to prevent rotation of the drum, and having a cup at its opposite end disposed to receive coins therein from the chute to thereby raise the hooked end to released position; said latch being so disposed relative to the locking cam that when a coin is received within the cup, that end of the latch will be rocked into engagement with the cam but will still retain the coin, and the slots of said cam being so located that rotation of the cam by the. handle will advance a slot thereof into position to receive the coin supporting end of the latch to permit a further movement of the latter and thereby effect the discharge of the coin, for the purpose set forth.

Signed at Seattle, Vashington, this 25th day of October, 1921.

PEARL M. COOK. 

